The life sciences industry was well-represented, with a handful of names featured in the top 100.
Each year, Forbes releases a list of the world’s richest people. The business magazine recently released its 35th annual list of billionaires, which featured a record-breaking 2,755 names. While the names topping the list weren’t necessarily surprising – Jeff Bezos held onto the top spot for the fourth year in a row, with Elon Musk close to follow – there were 493 new names on the list.
The life sciences industry was well-represented, with a handful of names featured in the top 100. Here’s a look at the top 10 billionaires.
1. Jiang Rensheng and family: Jiang Rensheng came in at No. 69 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $24.4 billion. Rensheng serves as chairman of Chongqing ZFSW Biological Products, also known as Zhifei, a biological enterprise that specializes in human vaccine production. Zhifei was the first privately-run vaccine enterprise listed on ChiNext.
2. Li Xiting: Although Li Xiting sits in spot No. 82 on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, he holds the title of Singapore’s richest person with a whopping net worth of $21.5 billion. Xiting is founder and chairman of medical device supplier Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics.
3. Zhong Huijuan: Zhong Huijuan is the richest woman in the life sciences industry, landing in spot No. 89 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $19.7 billion. Huijuan chairs Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharmaceutical, which she owns over three-quarters of with her daughter, Sun Yuan.
4. Xu Hang: With a net worth of $19.5 billion, Xu Hang wound up in spot No. 92. Hang is co-founder and serves as non-executive director of medical device company Mindray Medical International. Mindray develops, manufactures and markets medical devices.
5. Sun Piaoyang: Sun Piaoyang was the last life sciences billionaire to sneak into the top 100 on Forbes’ list, landing a few spots below his wife, Zhong Huijuan. Piaoyang ended up in spot No. 96 with a net worth of $18.9 billion. He became head of formerly state-led Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine in 1990.
6. Seo Jung-jin: Seo Jung-jin’s net worth of $14.2 billion put him in spot No. 145 on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest people. Jung-jin cofounded biopharmaceutical company Celltrion and topped the list of Korea’s Richest in 2021. He stepped down as Celltrion’s chairman in March 2021.
7. Cyrus Poonawalla: Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker. This accomplishment helped land him in spot No. 169 of the Forbes list with a net worth of $12.7 billion. The company produces over 1.5 billion vaccine doses each year.
8. Cen Junda: Although Cen Junda didn’t make his way onto this list for being a CEO or founder of a life sciences company, he technically fits because of his investments. Junda sits in spot No. 189 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $11.6 billion. A large part of his fortune stems from his shareholding in Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group.
9 and 10. Twin brothers round out the top 10 life sciences billionaires of the year. Andreas and Thomas Struengmann tied in spot No. 200 on Forbes’ list. The brothers sold generic drugmaker Hexal to Novartis in 2005 for roughly $7 billion. They also invest in life sciences and health care companies through their investment firm.
*Please note that the figures used in this list are based on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2021. Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate net worths. You can view Forbes’ real-time billionaires list here.